I recently picked up the Black-Ops branded Madcatz PrecisionAim Xbox 360 Controller (review of that incoming too… after I finishing tweaking it to my liking) and found the thumbsticks to be very slippery. They don’t feature any rubberised grip at all.

A pack of these did just the trick.

You get two sets of thumbstick grips included – one set that is like the Xbox controller and one set like the PS3’s. You can choose whatever feels more comfortable to you. They are extremely easy to slip over the tops of the thumbsticks, and easy enough to get off if you ever need to.

I started out with both in the 360’s style – but I have switched to the PS3 style on my aiming stick as it offers more grip (but at the expense of a little comfort).

There is also a PS3 version available of this pack too. The grips are the same on the outside but attach a little differently due to the difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360 thumbsticks. They are also black in colour, rather than grey.

I picked these up for £2.20 a few weeks ago. I would hope to get something for this for £1-£1.50, but by the looks of the large number of auctions of HK third-party thumbstick grips on ebay, I’d rather pay for a bit of quality. All of these generic thumbstick seem to be from the same production line and don’t look very comfortable. The ORB grips are very comfortable – the only fault I can find is that they do twist round gradually. This doesn’t affect the performance at all and is probably more down to physics than the manufacturer.

These aren’t for everyone – you only need to consider them if you need more grip for whatever reason or if you want to swap between the Xbox and Playstation style of thumbstick grip. In my research, I found that if you have completely lost the original rubber from an Official Xbox 360 controller’s thumbstick, that these will not fit on tightly. However, a bit of Blu-Tack can apparently do wonders.

I considered getting some KontrolFreeks but, costing at least £11, I’m glad there was a decent alternative to just add grip to your controller’s thumbstick. If you have a Madcatz PrecisionAim Xbox 360 Controller like me, I’d say they are a must.

Original Gangstaz is an addictive game and it’s developers are crack dealers. One of numerous text-based social MMORPGs on iOS it features a free-to-play/pay-to-do-better approach to gaming that is incredibly costly. Take a look at our guide on how to get loot for free. Continue reading »

A VNC client on your computer along with the Veency app from the Cydia app store will allow you to use your computer mouse and keyboard to control your iPod, iPhone or iPad as well as view the screen on your monitor. Continue reading »